The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is set to get a foreign flavour with former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener being roped in as the chief coach of Lyca Kovai Kings, the Coimbatore franchise.

Klusener, who represented South Africa in 49 Tests and 171 One Day Internationals (ODIs), is a high-profile signing by Lyca Productions, the promoters of the team. "Yes, we have finalised Klusener as our coach for this season. We have signed him for a period of three years. All the terms and conditions have been agreed upon and the final formalities are being worked out at the moment," Raju Mahalingam, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Lyca told TOI on Friday (July 1) evening.

Klusener was the assistant coach of Zimbabwe till last month when India toured them last month. Klusener is likely to visit the city next month when the franchise unveils its logo. "We plan to have a big launch in August, and Klusener could come for that," mentioned Mahalingam.

Earlier, Lyca had signed in former Tamil Nadu player C Hemanth Kumar and current state cricketer R Prasanna as part of their coaching staff. "Klusener is a cricketer of international repute and has not only been a great player, but has been part of the coaching staff of franchises such as Mumbai Indians. He will definitely bring in a lot of experience to our team. The presence of Hemanth and Prasanna is also very crucial since they know the local talent, and their inputs too will be invaluable," added Mahalingam.

Venkatesh in charge of TNPL cricket operations

Former Tamil Nadu and Railways offspinner R Venkatesh will be in-charge of the cricket operations of the TNPL. "Venkatesh has played the game for the state, and has also been involved in the administrative activities of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) over the years, and he fitted the bill perfectly. We got a lot of applications and after carefully scrutinizing them --- we zeroed in on Venkatesh," a source close to the development told TOI.

Venkatesh, who represented Tamil Nadu and Railways in the Ranji circuit, has 69 wickets to his name from 20 outings with 7 five-wicket hauls.

"While Venkatesh will be the GM (General Manager) for Cricket Operations, we have appointed Akshay Srikanth will be GM for Marketing Services. Akshay is a capable individual who donned the role of marketing manager with Big FM earlier," mentioned the source.

Last month, PS Raman was named the chairman of the league, while S Raghavan was being picked as the vice-chairman. Prasanna Kannan, in May, was named the CEO.